Nusantara: Taming a Dragon ✔

What's a bikini?

Alright, without any ranting from me today (I'm too lazy to do that and I have nothing fun to rant about, anyway), I give you lovelies the next chapter in my (kind of) sequel ;)

Hope you all enjoyed getting a bit of insight into Aleera's life and that you're ready to go back to the island where so many of our hearts still linger. So enjoy the new chapter, darlings, and don't forget to drop me a little comment to let me know what you think~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤

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~ One week later ~

"Ah, this is the life..."

Chuckling at the sound of Mawar's utterly satisfied tone, Aleera nodded and hummed in agreement, too lazy to open her eyes beneath the warm sun. It was their day off and they had decided to spend it on the nearby beach. Not that Mawar actually needed any sunbaths – Aleera had always said she was envious of her friend's naturally tanned skin, whereas she had to put actual effort in, before her skin turned to that delicious shade of chocolate. Granted she wasn't entirely pale either, given that her mother was Indonesian, but her father's British origins had prevented her from fully inheriting the olive skin of the natives.

"I think I'm going for a swim." she finally said, trying to put an end to that trail of thought.

"Alright..." Mawar replied without bothering to open her eyes. "Don't go out too far."

"Yes, Mother." Aleera retorted in jest.

Sharing a chuckle with her friend, she stood and dusted off the sand from her bottom before heading for the beckoning waves sparkling in the sun, unaware that she was being watched.

"Huhuhu I think it's about time."

'Are you sure about this? Maybe we should send her the same way as Tamara. What if she drowns?'

"You worry too much, Sari; she'll be fine."

Without another thought, the Goddess snapped her fingers – and next thing Aleera knew, she was being sucked underwater before she could even think of calling for help. At first she tried her best to not panic, so as to conserve whatever air she still had in her lungs; but the sight of a dark abyss opening beneath her as the water itself seemingly pushed her into it, caused her heart rate to spike and soon enough her chest started burning from the lack of oxygen.

No matter how much she struggled, there was nothing to grab and nothing she could use as leverage to escape what she thought was a whirlpool that had caught her by accident. Finally, fear settled in when the edges of her vision darkened as she stared at the diminishing greenish light of the sea above. Was this how she was going to die? Barely twenty years old... without even getting the chance to experience life to its fullest... without getting to say goodbye to her friends... and who was going to look after Tristan?

"Alright, maybe you should  call your friend and help her cross over." the Goddess finally conceded.

'I told you it was too risky!'

With that retort, Sari took off from the woman's shoulder and shot into the sea below. Finding the one she was looking for, she guided the mammal to the portal just when Aleera was about to give up struggling. And the last thing she saw, as her gaze dimmed, was a shadow similar to a dolphin – or maybe a whale – swimming toward her followed by... a dove?

'What a silly thought.'  she mused, as darkness finally engulfed her.

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